Diversity Visa

2016 Diversity Visa Program Registration

The 2016 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2016) will open at 12:00 p.m. EDT (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 1, 2014, and will close at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, November 3, 2014. Applicants must submit entries electronically during this registration period using the electronic DV entry form (E-DV) at dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted. All entrants must print and retain their online confirmation page after completing their DV entries so that they will be able to check their entry status. We strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after 12:00 p.m. EDT on November 3, 2014.

The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the period of the past five years. No single country may receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.

For DV-2016, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:

A “native” ordinarily means someone born within a particular country, regardless of the individual's current country of residence or nationality. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the diversity visa process more efficient and secure. We utilize special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries.

For DV-2016, the Department of State will again implement an online process to notify entrants of their selection, and to provide information about the immigrant visa application and interview. Starting May 5, 2015, entrants may enter their DV-2016 entry confirmation number into the Entrant Status Check, available at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, to find out whether their entry was selected or not. Subsequently, selected individuals who respond to the notification instructions provided on the E-DV selectee confirmation page on Entrant Status Check will also receive notification of their scheduled IV appointment through Entrant Status Check. DV-2016 data will be available through Entrant Status Check until at least June 30, 2016. All entrants should keep their confirmation number until September 30, 2016, whether they are initially selected or not.

The Entrant Status Check, when available on May 5, 2015, will provide next-step instructions to selectees, and will direct each selectee to the "Instructions for Selectees" web pages, which are accessible on Travel.state.gov by entering the web address dvselectee.state.gov.

Changes in U.S. immigration practice as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act also apply to DV-2016 applicants. U.S. Embassies and consulates will adjudicate visa applications that are based on a same-sex marriage in the same way as applications for opposite gender spouses.

Confirmation of visa interview appointments will also be made through entry status check.

For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV program, please see the instructions for the DV-2016 Diversity Visa program available at travel.state.gov